Deputies arrest Torrance woman on suspicion of stealing $1.2 million from small-business owner

A Torrance woman is suspected of stealing $1.2 million from a boss who had trusted her to run his office, only to discover she had pilfered profits and deposited them into her own bank account for three years, the victim and authorities said Wednesday.

Jennifer Robinson, who also went by the name Jennifer Osborn, was arrested Tuesday at a Starbucks coffee shop in Norwalk. She was released on $20,000 bail, county jail records show.

“I entrusted her with the keys to the kingdom,” said Larry Miceli, owner of LM Auto Wholesale in Norwalk. “I would say her betrayal is of Shakespearean proportion. It’s just beyond belief. I’m just flabbergasted.”

The Santa Monica resident said he and his friend examined the company’s books and discovered that several hundred checks Robinson allegedly had written were deposited into a bank account called “J Osborn Auto DBA LM Auto Wholesale.”

“The numbers weren’t adding up,” Miceli said. “There had to be something wrong. I said, ‘I know I’m making a good profit. Where’s the money?’ I’m a small businessman, but I turn big amounts of money.”

Last week, Miceli confronted Robinson and told her he knew she was stealing from him.

“She just rolled over,” he said.

Miceli provided copies of checks and Robinson’s statements to detectives at the sheriff’s Norwalk station.

Miceli arranged to meet Robinson to talk at the Starbucks at Rosecrans Avenue and Pioneer Boulevard. After she sat down at an outdoor table, deputies arrested her on suspicion of grand theft and embezzlement.

“There was no look of anything on her face,” Miceli said. “The cops were waiting around the corner. As soon as I said, ‘Roll,’ they came up and handcuffed her. She just looked completely blank.”

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Robinson, 35, was quickly released pending further investigation.

A lieutenant in the Sheriff’s Department’s Commercial Crimes bureau, which has taken over the investigation, said detectives questioned Robinson, but need more than just the copies of checks provided by Miceli.

Investigators will serve search warrants on Robinson’s bank accounts to obtain the records to legally file the case.

Miceli said he met Robinson about six years ago when she worked at South Bay BMW. She was a new mother and needed to work flexible hours, so he hired her to run his office. He paid her $72,000 a year to work six hours a day.

Last month, Miceli said he wondered how Robinson was able to afford a $20,000 vacation to Hawaii. Miceli said she stayed on the 24th floor of a hotel that had an ocean view.

“We were very close. She was like part of the family — ‘What are we getting her for Christmas?’ ” Miceli said. “And to think that I was getting stroked with one hand and a knife in the back with another. It’s beyond comprehension.”

Robinson, her husband, Michael, and their son live in a rented home on Ladeene Avenue in Torrance. What happened to the money is unclear, but Miceli suspects it helped them fund the startup Robinson RC Parts and Accessories, a hobby shop on Anza Avenue in Torrance. The remote car business is run by her husband. No one answered the phone at the hobby shop on Wednesday. The voice on the answering machine appeared to be that of Jennifer Robinson.

Reached by telephone at her home, Robinson refused to answer any questions and hung up.